Catfish and the Bottlemen Album Details Released

In the breaks between electrifying outdoor and festival shows in 2018, Van McCann (vocals, guitars), Johnny Bond (guitars), Robert “Bob” Hall (drums), and Benji Blakeway (bass) retreated with Irish producer Jacknife Lee (U2, The Killers) to carefully craft The Balance over a 12-month period. Recorded in seclusion at two locations – Grouse Lodge in Moate, Republic of Ireland, and The Chapel in the countryside of East Lincolnshire – the band lived and breathed the album while residing together in rural isolation. The album was mixed by Craig Silvey (Florence + the Machine, Arcade Fire).

“We loved living in the same place,” says McCann. “We were staying there the whole time, so we were waking up around each other and working until we needed to go to bed. Jacknife was always up. He was the first up and the last awake. It’s good when you’re completely engulfed in recording in a place like that, living together, because every day and all day it was about the songs. We had fun too; they were the funniest album sessions we’ve done.”

In addition to the album name and familiar one-word song titles, the creative bridge between 2014’s platinum-certified debut, The Balcony and its gold-certified follow up, The Ride, has been reinforced by the band returning to San Francisco-based graphic artist Tim Lahan to provide cover artwork for a third time.

The eleven-track album features the new single “Longshot,” which has amassed over 6 million global streams since its January 8 release, as well as the live fan-favorite “Fluctuate.” “Longshot” hints that the band’s rapid ascent to “big hall” players has crossed over to influence their time in the studio. Fans will be able to hear these new songs live on the band’s upcoming U.S. headline tour which kicks off March 12 and will hit the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, CA on March 22 and Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY on April 3. All tour dates along with the full album track listing can be found below.